I hate mosquitoes. I especially hate them as I lie in bed at night and they zoom past my ear taunting me. I have to get up and hunt them down no matter how long it takes. Christi suffers in silence as we both endure a sleepless night. We are awoken just after dawn by a tremendous clap of thunder that shakes the hotel as the rain sweeps in again. The rain clatters the roof so hard it reminds me of horses running on cobblestones. It is so loud there is no chance we will fall back asleep, but there’s nothing to get up for because our morning wildlife viewing is curtailed due to the extreme weather conditions. Supposedly the summer and autumn are the wet times of year (we’re now in the South American spring), but it’s hard to imagine there being more rain than this – it’s VERY WET! We’re forced to relax again. It’s a funny thing that Christi and I have been on the road for 4 months, virtually in constant motion, and now that we have the opportunity to relax, I’m finding it very difficult. Could it be that my adrenaline levels are perpetually elevated, ready for the next unknown challenge. My edginess continues until the monsoon subsides in the afternoon and we can finally embark upon another speedboat ride around the Ibera wetlands. Capybara and caiman remain the most abundant species (and most easily photographed), although there are numerous bird species that pose very nicely for the camera, including the delightfully named Southern Screamer.
Tonight we change things up a little by going out on a night safari. Our guide, Jose, promises a plethora of new and different species to enjoy, including cats, anteaters, and armadillos. What nobody mentions, however, is that we will be dinner for the trillion and one mosquitoes that plague our route through the marshes. Jose brings a powerful spotlight with him, but the only critters we encounter are capybara, caiman, a marsh deer, a vizcacha (a member of the capybara family) and a few frogs that serenade us. I leave the marsh with two fewer pints of blood and not much in the way of exciting new animal encounters. Back at the ‘luxury’ Rancho Ibera, Christi is shocked to see the extent of my mosquito mauling. She escaped with barely an itch to scratch. This is one time where being sweeter meat is not an advantage.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, laugh-wrenching story.
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